Knight In Time
by karkovice
Summary: A crossover story, and sequel to "Accidental Time Travelers", where Michael Knight and KITT return to The Great Valley to reunite with their old friends.
1. Preface

**PREFACE**

This is the sequel to my first Knight Rider/Land Before Time crossover story: Accidental Time Travelers.

In this follow up story, Michael Knight, KITT and friends go back to The Great Valley as part of a controlled time travel experiment. Since the events would take place sometime during the fourth season of the original Knight Rider series, Little Foot and his gang get to see the new and improved KITT in action. I strongly recommend you read the first story in order to get an idea of the backgroud for the sequel.

The original Knight Rider was a series I grew up with and adored; and while I've heard about The Land Before Time back when the first movie came out, I never really took a liking to it until a short time ago. Then these ideas for stories suddenly came to me, seemingly out of nowhere; like this one.

Every time I put out a story like this, I'm always fearful of what kind of reviews I'd get out of it. I don't know if the plot of this story would be worthy of a Pulitzer prize; but I'll you, the readers, decide for yourselves. Try to enjoy this story, and try not to be too harsh with your negative comments.


	2. Chapter 1 Eureka!

**CHAPTER 1**

**EUREKA!**

He had been working on it for two years now. Ever since Devon Miles and The Foundation for Law and Government gave him permission to use their laboratories to conduct his experiments, he made good on his promise not to conduct tests without Devon's approval.

The last time Doctor David Anders conducted his experiments without anyone's permission, it nearly cost Michael Knight's life, and almost destroyed KITT. The Foundation, and Dr Anders, were lucky to be able to recover Michael and KITT without hardly a scratch on either one of them! Had they been gone for good, Devon would've surely hanged Dr. Anders by the end of a rope! The Knight Industries Two Thousand was far too precious to the Foundation, as was his personalized driver. It would've been an irrecoverable loss for everybody, and the Foundation would've certainly folded not long afterwards!

Dr. Anders was a short man in his early thirties with medium length brown hair, and of average weight for his size. Being a product of Silicon Valley, he was a brilliant scientist who held a PhD in Quantum Physics. He married his long time girlfriend Caroline Jones a little over a year ago, and she was expecting their first child.

His main passion was time travel. He read every book and scientific papers there were on the subject! Everybody who knew about his fascination with the matter and resulting experiments all laughed and ridiculed him saying that time travel would never be possible, and that he was a "crackpot" for delving into the subject. But while everyone else laughed at him, Caroline Jones was the only one who really believed that he would one day make his time travel dream come true; and she supported him all the way.

It was out of desperation, however, that he decided to "experiment" at the expense of Michael and KITT. Silicon Valley absolutely refused to fund his experiments, and he took advantage of a Foundation sponsored experiment in teleportation to test out his time travelling theory. In the aftermath of their successful return to the present from the prehistoric past, Dr. Anders and Devon Miles made a deal where the young scientist would borrow the Foundation's laboratories and conduct his time travel experiments under a controlled environment.

He called everyone into the laboratory warehouse where he would make his announcement.

"What's this all about, David?" Michael immediately asked as he entered the warehouse room.

Dr. Anders had an exstatic demeanor about him. "I've done it! I'VE FINALLY DONE IT!!" He was giddy with laughter.

"If you're talking about sending a watermelon five minutes back in time, you've done that already!" Michael stated.

"No! I mean I was finally able to maintain a sustained time vortex for A FULL WEEK!"

Devon looked surprised. "Are you serious!!?"

"I AM serious, Mr. Miles!"

Devon rolled his eyes. "How many times do I have to tell you: PLEASE CALL ME 'DEVON'!"

"Sorry... Devon..." Dr. Anders said with a nervous grin.

"Did you really do it? Were you really able to sustain a stable time travel field for a full SEVEN DAYS???" Bonnie Barstow asked.

"Yes, Miss Barstow! I did!!"

Rebecca looked irritated. "David, please..."

"I know! I know! 'Please call me Bonnie'... Sorry..." Dr. Anders laughed nervously again.

"So what does all this mean?" Devon asked.

"It MEANS that we can move on to the next step in the experiment: Trying it out on a LIVE SUBJECT..."

"And by 'live subject', I presume you mean myself and KITT..." Michael flatly said.

"YES!" Dr. Anders cried out in joy.

"Great!" Michael said with a sigh. "And you're ABSOLUTELY SURE this time!?"

"ABSOLUTELY, Mr. Knight!"

Michael shot Dr Anders a glaring look.

"Sorry... MICHAEL..." Dr. Anders corrected, getting the hint.

"So you're finally ready to have KITT drive through your... time vortex... thing with Michael inside?" R.C. asked.

"MORE than ready, R.C." Dr. Anders smiled.

R.C. humpfed. "Better him than me!"

"Thanks a lot, R.C.!" Michael said as he glared at his Foundation colleague and friend.

"Anytime!" R.C. said as he jokingly slapped Michael on the shoulder.

R.C. was the nickname Reginald Cornelius the 3rd's friends gave him, but he liked to call himself "R.C. 3". He was the newest member of The Foundation, and has become a valuable member of the crimefighting team. He hailed from Chicago where he made himself a vigilante in the fight against crime out there, going by the alias "Street Avenger". It was after R.C. helped Devon out that he decided to bring him into the Foundation to help out Michael, KITT and Bonnie in The Foundation's main objective.

"A-actually..." Dr. Anders continued. "I think it's safe enough that ALL FOUR OF YOU can sit inside KITT while he drives through the vortex..."

R.C. looked surprised. "All four of us???"

Dr. Anders smiled and nodded. "AAAAND... I've perfected the time travel programming enough that you can select any period of time you want, and the vortex can send you there no problem."

"Wait a minute!" Michael began. "Did you say: ANY time period we want???"

"That's EXACTLY what I said, Mist.... Michael..."

Michael smiled slowly. "Weeeeell, in that case, I think I know just the place..."

Everyone looked at him curiously.

* * *

_Knight rider.... A shadowy flight into the dangerous world of a man_

_who does not exist...._

_Michael Knight... A young loner on a crusade to champion the cause of_

_the innocent, the helpless, the powerless... in a world of criminals who operate_

_above the law!_


	3. Chapter 2 Questionable Decision

**CHAPTER 2**

**QUESTIONABLE DECISION**

"Are you sure about this, Michael?" Devon asked from behind his desk.

They had all gathered inside Devon's office at the mansion that used to belong to the late great Wilton Knight, multi millionaire and founder of Knight Industries and The Foundation for Law and Government. The mansion that was his home was now the headquarters for The Foundation, and it was Wilton Knight's dying wish that long time family friend Devon Miles take over as Chief Administrator and continue with his crusade against crime and injustice. The Knight Industries Two Thousand, K.I.T.T., Wilton's creation, would be the key asset in the crusade he had set forth.

"Absolutely, Devon!" Michael Knight said in response. "I'm sure those dinosaurs would LOVE to see me and KITT again!"

"Wait!" Bonnie interrupted. "Are these the same dinosaurs that you said could TALK!?"

Devon smiled and nodded. "Yes!"

Bonnie sighed. "You know, when April Curtis told me that story, I thought you guys played a trick on her. Good thing she didn't believe you. 'I' didn't even believe you! I STILL don't!"

"But once you meet them, you'll change your mind!" Michael smiled.

After a moment, Bonnie nodded. "Well, I certainly couldn't WAIT to see THIS!"

"Me, too!" RC smiled. "But are you sure it's safe, Michael? I heard some of those dinos were vicious maneaters."

"Hey! You've got nothing to worry about, RC! They're HERBIVORES!" Michael said reassuringly. "They don't eat people!... Well... except for these three carnivores we encountered. They tried to eat some of the herbivores... and they probably would've eaten ME, if it weren't for KITT."

Bonnie crossed her arms. "Well, THAT's reassuring!" she snorted.

RC remained pensive for a few moments, then nodded his head. "All right... But wouldn't you rather go back in time to someplace else? Like in... Medieval times??? Or the Old West???"

Michael was silent for a moment, then shook his head. "No... I think a trip back to prehistory would be much safer... Besides, I'd rather go back in time to a period where I know we'll have friends who'll enjoy us paying them another visit..."

Both Bonnie and RC nodded their agreement. "It's your call, Devon." Bonnie said as she turned her attention to the elder Englishman behind the desk.

Devon remained pensive for a few moments. Michael Knight anxiously held his breath.

Finally, Devon Miles smiled and nodded. "Agreed." Michael breathed a sigh of relief. "We'll leave tomorrow morning... Until then, I suggest you all get some rest. I'll prep KITT for the journey."

"Come on, RC! We'd better get packing!" Bonnie said as she patted the young African American guy on the shoulder.

"Yeah... Probably don't have too many spare clothes in prehistoric times we can borrow..."

Michael watched them leave, then turned his smiling face to Devon and bade him good night before walking out himself.

"Good night, Michael!" A smiling Devon said to Michael as he left.

Then he picked up his office phone and dialed the laboratory extension. "Yes, Dr. Anders..."


	4. Chapter 3 Departure

**CHAPTER 3**

**DEPARTURE**

The next morning, at the appointed time, everybody gathered in the warehouse laboratory where the time travelling equipment was located. For the occasion, everybody showed up in their casual attire. RC wore a pair of faded jeans with a Chicago Cubs T-shirt, Bonnie wore a simple long sleeved shirt with a pair of light blue jeans, and Michael wore a white T-shirt that said "Adidas" on it underneath his leather jacket with his deep blue jeans and white sneakers.

The night before, Dr. Anders and his team worked at completing the final calibrations for the time vortex they were about to open. Now, all was ready!

As soon as he arrived, Michael Knight helped himself to a cup of coffee from the steaming pot still on the percolator.

"You know, Michael, you really oughta be laying off that stuff... I hear it's not good for you..." Bonnie said to him.

"AW! Gimme a break, Bonnie!" Michael retorted.

With that, the familiar drone of KITT's car engine echoed throughout the laboratory as Devon drove up.

"Hey, Devon!" Michael cheerfully said, raising his cup of coffee.

"Good morning, everybody!" Devon said with a smile as he exited the car. For this occasion, Devon wore a pair of black denim pants, tennis shoes, and a dark blue turtleneck sweater underneath a simple grey jacket. Everybody thought he looked weird "dressed down", as they were so used to seeing him in a 3 piece suit.

"Is KITT ready for our journey?" Bonnie asked.

"More than ready!" Devon replied. "I've had KITT's new suspension reinforced to handle the rugged terrain, made sure his fuel tank was filled to the brim; and most importantly, put an extra coating of formula on his molecular bonded shell, just in case!"

"Whoa, Devon!" RC said in surprise. "What are you expecting, that a nuclear bomb would suddenly drop on him!?"

"Very funny, RC!" Devon grumbled. "No! It's just a precaution. In case we run into any... sharp teeth, I think was how they called them? I did notice a few large scratch marks on KITT's passenger side door, when you were brought back from that period two years ago... I deduced that those scratches could only have been left by those dreadful monsters!" He glared at Michael.

"Yyyyyyeah, well... That's more a result of KITT hitting one of them square in the jaw..." Michael said nervously.

Devon rolled his eyes.

"But it was in self defense!" Michael said defensively.

"Well, in any case, I hope you all brought your luggage! KITT, open your trunk, if you don't mind..." Devon said.

"Yes, Devon." KITT replied as he did just that.

"WHOA! Look at all this stuff!!" RC commented as he saw what was inside KITT's trunk.

"And he even brought the tent! How very thoughtful of you, Devon!" Michael also commented.

"Yes! Well, I made sure we'd have everything we'd need for... camping out..." Devon said. "You can't be too prepared, I always say! It'll be just like the time where, as a young lad, I went on an African safari with my..."

"Save the camping stories for our dino friends! Okay, Devon?" Michael interrupted.

Devon reluctantly nodded.

"Boy! I can't wait to get there! This is gonna be FUN!" RC said with excitement.

"Dr. Anders, if you please?" Devon said to the young scientist.

Dr. Anders nodded as he started typing out a sequence on his computer. Everybody heard the humming sound and saw the small lightning flashes as the gateway slowly came to life to create the time vortex. Dr. Anders' team kept the original teleporting amplifiers and converted them into time vortex amplifiers. The humming sound began to increase in pitch, and the lightning flashes increased as the time vortex began to form until it looked like a screen of smoky blue haze.

"The more I look at it, the more I find myself mesmerized by it..." Michael said in awe.

"Isn't it GREAT!!?" Dr. Anders said extatically.

"It's a MIRACLE, Dave!" RC said shaking his head in disbelief, as he had done every time he saw the time vortex appear before his very eyes.

"So I can trust you to reactivate the vortex in 72 hours once we're through?" Devon asked the young Doctor.

"You can count on us, sir! 72 hours is more than enough time to say 'hello' to your old friends..." Dr. Anders smiled as he let out a little laugh.

Devon smiled at his attempt at humour. "So how much time would've lapsed since we've returned from that era?" He then asked the young doctor.

"I've calculated the time differential to be about two months, according to the Gregorian calendar." Dr. Anders said in response.

"You sure about this, Michael?" Bonnie asked the tall man standing beside her.

"Quite sure!" Michael smiled. "The Great Valley looked to only have one season, and there was plenty of food around to fuel their healthy appetites. They should still be there."

"I hope you're right..." Bonnie mused.

Michael rolled his eyes. "Will you stop worrying!? Everything's gonna be FINE! Trust me!" He placed his hands on her shoulders in a comforting manner. Bonnie smiled up at him.

"Okay! It's ready!!" Dr. Anders announced as he made one final check of his computer console.

"Splendid!" Devon smiled. "Well then, shall we?" He then said to the others as he walked over towards KITT.

Everybody followed suit.

Devon climbed into the passenger seat while Michael took his usual place in the driver's sest. Bonnie and RC made themselves comfortable in the back seat.

"Okay buddy, you ready?" Michael asked KITT.

"Ready, Michael!" KITT responded. "Although I am concerned about our re entry. It was quite rough the last time, if my memory circuits serve me correctly..."

"You can handle it, buddy! Don't you worry!" Michael said with encouragement.

"I certainly hope so!" KITT said in response.

Michael back KITT up to the very edge of the warehouse to make sure he had enough space to accelerate KITT up to 25 miles per hour, which was the speed Dr. Anders calculated for a proper entry into the time vortex so KITT doesn't come out too "hot" on the other side.

After letting out a breath, Michael announced. "Okay, gang! Here we go!! We're going ADVENTURING!!!" Then he put his foot on the accelerator. KITT's tires screeched on the floor of the warehouse as he sped towards the vortex. He then dissapeared into the vortex under a flash of light, leaving a cloud of dust behind him.


	5. Chapter 4 Arrival

**CHAPTER 4**

**ARRIVAL**

In The Great Valley, it was a beautiful day. The bright circle was shining down brightly, and there were a few white puffies floating in the sky. There were two swimmer dinos, one male and one female, grazing on the lush green grass of the valley.

Suddenly, there was an explosion of light that appeared 20 feet away from them, which surprised the two dinos. Then a misty blue circle formed. Both dinos just stared in fear at this strange blue circle. Then, seconds later, a black mass shot out of the circle and came skidding to a halt 50 feet away. Both dinos cried out in a panic as they ran away as fast as they could from this strange sight.

* * *

Inside KITT, everybody was recovering from their reemergence from the time vortex. Kitt kicked up some dirt as he skidded to a halt roughly 50 feet away from the vortex, which immediately closed up behind them.

"You were right, Michael. That WAS a rought re entry!" Devon commented from the front passenger seat.

WHOO WHOO "I TOLD you so, Devon!" KITT said matter-of-factly.

"Whoa... What a RUSH!" RC commented from the back seat.

"Well, no matter! We seemed to have arrived at our destination..." Devon said as he looked outside.

"KITT, scan the area for our friends..." Michael ordered.

KITT activated his outside scanners and extended his range until he found what he was looking for. "I've got them, Michael! About three quarter miles due south west." KITT said as he displayed the amourphous blobs on his inner monitor.

"Well, then, let's go say 'hello', shall we!?" said a smiling Michael as he stepped on the gas to make KITT speed off towards where the dinosaurs were gathered.

* * *

Near his sleeping place, Grandpa Longneck was spending the day telling stories and teaching things to his grandson Little Foot and his young dinosaur friends.

He was in the midst of telling a story from his youth when he was interrupted by the two swimmer dinos.

"MR. LONGNECK! MR. LONGNECK!" the male screamed as he ran up, followed closely behind by his female partner.

Grandpa Longneck allowed the male swimmer to catch his breath for a minute or two before he spoke. "We just saw a big long black rock appear from a circle of blue light way up on that hill we just came from!"

"Yeah... We think it's the same black rock that came here not too long ago!" the female chimed in.

Grandpa Longneck's eyes grew wide as he glanced back at the stunned faces of his charges. "Lead the way!" he said to the two swimmers, who nodded and turned to head back towards where they came from.

* * *

Moments later, the swimmers and Grandpa Longneck were almost at the top of the hill, with Little Foot and his gang not far behind.

Little Foot heard a familiar sound in the breeze. "Do you guys hear that!?" he asked.

"Yeah... Me hear it!" Petrie answered.

"I can hear it, too!" Chomper said as well.

"That sound sounds awfully familiar..." Ruby said as she put a hand to her earhole.

Then they all saw the form emerging from the top of the hill. Ducky gasped when she saw what it was. "I do not believe my own eyes!" she said.

"Could it be???" Little Foot cried.

"It IS!" Chomper cried in joy. "It's KHIT!!"

"...And MYK'L!" Little Foot also cried once he saw the familiar form of the two footed being emerge from the creature they now recognized as KITT.

The smiling Michael had indeed stepped out from the driver's seat of KITT to wave his hand at the group of dinos. "MY OLD FRIENDS, HELLO! HOW ARE YA!!?" he cheerfully said.

Chomper immediately ran up with Little Foot not far behind. Michael got down to one knee and extended his arms to allow Chomper to give him a warm hug. "Hey, little buddy!" Michael OOMPHed as Chomper crashed into him.

"I'm so glad you're back!" Chomper exclaimed.

"It's good to BE back!" Michael replied.

Chomper then relinquished his hold from Michael and ran up to KITT. "I missed you, Khit!" he cried as he hugged KITT's left front wheel.

KITT made his WHOO WHOO.... WHOO WHOO sound before answering. "Hello, Chomper!"

Then it was Little Foot's turn to give Michael his own greeting. Michael reached out and hugged Little Foot's neck, and gave him a small affectionate noogie; which made Little Foot back off, slightly annoyed.

Grandpa Longneck sidled up to Michael and bent his head down to face him. "I must say, this is quite a surprise!" he began. "After you left The Great Valley, we never thought we'd see you again... or khit, for that matter..."

"Well, we were able to perfect our time travel experiments to the point where we can maintain a stable enough time field to go anywhere we want! Naturally, we thought we'd come here and SURPRISE you!" Michael grinned.

Grandpa Longneck chuckled. "And 'surprise' us you did! Although I'll never fully understand your 'time travel exPAIRments', we ARE glad you're here! Will you be staying long?"

"'Bout two or three days..."

"Well, that'll give us the chance to catch up on a few things... We can also show you some of the wondrous things in The Great Valley you and khit haven't seen before..."

"Yeah! Like Saurus Rock... and Threehorn Peak... The Secret Caverns... and..."

Grandpa Longneck laughed again. "I see my grandson's as eager as I am to show you everything there is to see in our valley!"

Michael smiled again. "We'd like that! We're not alone, though. We brought some friends with us..."

"Oh?" Grandpa Longneck said curiously as Michael made a motion in KITT's direction.

All of the dinos were astounded to see other creatures like Myk'l emerge from KITT's body and cautiously approach from behind.

"You all remember Devon Miles?" Michael gestured towards the Englishman.

Devon smiled and nodded. "How do you do?"

"And this young man here is Reginald Cornelius the 3rd!" Michael said as he tapped his shoulder.

"My friends calls me 'R.C 3.'. But you can call me 'R.C.'." RC smiled.

Cera cautiously approached the newcomer. "Humpf! I must say, I never saw a mammal with your hyde colour before! You're almost as black as KHIT over there!"

RC smiled. "I like to think of myself as being pretty special... There are actually quite a few of us where I come from."

Cera humpfed. "I'll bet."

"And last, but not least, this fine young lady here is Bonnie Barstow!"

"I take it all back, Michael! They DO talk!!" She said in astonishment.

"So I guess that means you believe me NOW, don't you!?" Said a smirking Michael.

"Totally!" admitted Bonnie.

Petrie floated up to face Bonnie. "Hi, Bah-knee! You Mykl's mate?"

"No!" Bonnie immediately said. "We're just friends..."

"You have mate back home?"

"Not at the moment..."

"Me no have mate, either! But maybe SOMEDAY..."

Bonnie chuckled. "You're a cute little fella, aren't you?"

"Me not little! Me BIIIIIG flyer!"

Spike came up to Bonnie, stood on his hind legs and gave her an affectionate lick on her face, just like a big friendly dog would. Bonnie cried as she was bowled over. This brought forth laughter from all those gathered.

"Petrie's right when he says he's 'big'!" Little Foot said when the laughter died down. "We've ALL grown since you've last seen us, Myk'l!"

"I don't see any difference!" Devon commented.

"Actually, Devon! I'm detecting a thirty to thirty-five percent increase in mass in all of the dinosaur children since we last saw them." KITT said. "They ARE, in fact, growing up!"

"See? TOLD you so!" Little Foot proudly said.

Grandpa Longneck then made introductions all around to RC and Bonnie.

"And now that we've all been introduced, we were in the midst of story telling when you arrived. Care you join us, and perhaps exhange your own stories with us?" Grandpa Longneck invited.

"We'd love to!" Michael said. "But first, KITT's changed since you've last seen him. We'd like to show you what improvements we've made to him."

"Now THIS I've gotta see!" Cera commented.

Grandpa Longneck nodded. "By all means!"

"Ok, KITT! Let's show 'em your 'stuff'!" Michael said as he walked over towards KITT, who already opened his driver's side door to let Michael in.

"With pleasure!" KITT said.

Michael engaged the engine, then stepped on the accelerator to make KITT speed off towards the east. When he judged he was far enough for the sake of the demonstration, Michael made a quick U-turn and sped back towards the assembled dinos, kicking up dirt and grass in the process.

"All right, KITT! Let's show 'em your SUPER PURSUIT MODE!" Michael said as he pressed the appropriate green coloured button behind the panel that opened up for him, thus engaging the necessary transformation to KITT's outer body.

Once the transformation was complete, KITT took off like a rocket speeding towards the group of gathered dinos, pushing Michael well into his seat.

The dinos only saw a big black blur as KITT shot past them headed towards the west. He disssapeared over a nearby hill in an instant.

"WWWOOOOW! I've never SEEN khit run that fast before!!" Chomper said in astonishment.

"You ain't seen NOTHIN' yet!" RC commented.

A few minutes later, everyone saw KITT speed back towards them.

"Ok, KITT! Emergency breaking time!!" Michael said as he pressed the red coloured button marked "Emergency Breaking System". The side panels on either side of KITT opened up, which caused him to stop quite suddenly directly in front of the group of assembled dinos. All of the young ones OOOOHed in amazement at KITT's performance.

"TA DAAAAAAH!" Exclaimed KITT as he came to his sudden stop.

The four footed children cheered and the two footers applauded as Michael emerged from KITT and took his bows. Grandpa Longneck simply flashed an impressed smile at what he had just seen.

"Show off!" Bonnie muttered under her breath.

"Michael???" RC said in surprise after he overheard what Rebecca said. "Well, maybe a little..."

"I meant KITT!" Bonnie corrected.

RC simply rolled his eyes.

All of the dinos saw that KITT had changed shape somewhat, which they deduced was what allowed him to move at that super fast speed they just witnessed. Little Foot tried to remember to ask Myk'l later how khit manages to change form like that.

"I LOVE the new and improved khit! I do! I do!" Ducky commented.

"Me, too!" Ruby also commented. "The improvements khit were given are definately GOOD improvements!"

"Gee, Myk'l! That was GREAT!!" Chomper exclaimed.

"As good as that was, Chomper, that's the LEAST of what KITT can do!" Michael said.

"Huh???" Cera said in confusion. "What could be better than THAT!?"

"Watch!" Michael said with a smile.

He then climbed back into the driver's seat. By this time, KITT had reassumed his original shape all on his own. Michael then pressed the button marked "C" on KITT's console. Some of the dinos recoiled as they saw KITT's "head" open up and dissapear into his lower backside.

"What do you think!?" Michael asked.

"How'd khit do THAT!!?" Little Foot asked.

"Just a little feature called 'convertability', my longneck friend! Come here! Let me show you!"

Little Foot and Chomper were first in line to see what Michael wanted to show them. The rest were forced to look over their shoulders.

"You see this button?" Michael said as he pointed. "That's the letter 'C'. 'C' for 'convertible'!" Michael smiled.

"COOOOOLL!" Chomper exclaimed as he smiled back.

Grandpa Longneck chuckled from up above them. "I must say, I am quite impressed by what you and khit have shown us here today. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to complete my story telling lesssons before it gets too dark."

"Lead the way, big guy!" Michael smiled.

With that, Grandpa Longneck headed back towards his nest area with his charges in tow. The humans followed from behind, and KITT followed them under his own power, the drone of his powerful engine echoing throughout The Great Valley.


	6. Chapter 5 Around the Campfire

**CHAPTER 5**

**AROUND THE "CAMPFIRE"**

For the rest of the day, the dino children were busy interacting with KITT and his human friends. Grandpa Longneck tried to continue with his story telling lessons, but he had to endure constant interruptions caused by Great Valley residents coming down to see what the fuss was all about.

The news of KITT and Michael's return spread fast throughout The Great Valley, and many of it's residents arrived to get a closer look at what these "strange and harmless creatures" were. Many had met Michael and KITT before, and simply stop by to say "hello" before moving on to other things; while others stopped to chat with the visiting group for a bit. Devon, Bonnie and RC got to meet a whole lot of talking dinos that day, while KITT got the attention of mostly the younger dinos of the valley.

In the end, Grandpa Longneck sighed and had to put off the remainder of his story telling lessons until another day, as the bright circle was setting, and there was still a huge crowd gathered around the sleeping area he shared with Grandma Longneck and Little Foot. He felt that a lot of them wouldn't leave until the bright circle had set.

Just before it got too dark, the humans went to set up their tent a little ways away from Little Foot's sleeping area. Many of the dinos watched as the three human males quickly put up this strange structure that was unlike anything they've ever seen before. Even the human female Bonnie pitched in to help! They were particularly impressed with the hard things the humans called "mallets" to sink the long grey hard spiky things into the ground. The young dinos laughed when Myk'l told them the hard grey things were actually called "spikes". They were even surprised by KITT using his grappling hook, at one point, to hold up a rope that was then tied down.

Little Foot had many questions about the "sleeping area" the humans set up, and Michael and Devon did their best to answer him. He was especially curious about the many objects the humans brought with them that came out of khit's "backside", like the sleeping bags, the pillows, the flashlights, the many food items; and something Michael called a "propane grill". Poor Little Foot didn't quite understand the principals of how the grill worked; and neither did Little Foot's friends, for that matter; no matter how good Michael tried to explain it to them.

By the time the bright circle had set, they had finished setting up their "sleeping area" for the night. When Grandpa Longneck saw what Devon was planning to do with the "proh pain grill", he mentioned that he could take them to an area where they could use the heat from "natural red fire to do whatever it is they wanted to do with their proh pain grill." Already hinting at what the big apatosaur meant, a smiling Devon accepted their invitation, and had all of the humans gather up whatever they needed to follow Grandpa Longneck to wherever it is he wanted to take them.

* * *

When they arrived, and saw where it was that Grandpa Longneck led them to, it didn't take them long to get things ready and enjoy their time around this makeshift "campfire".

"I must admit I never thought I'd be roasting weiners over a lava flow like this!" Michael commented.

"Yeah... Sure beats the hell out of using that propane grill!" RC said in turn.

"Especially since Devon was having trouble lighting those matches..." Michael teased, which made Bonnie stifle a laugh.

Devon glared at Michael. "I'll have you know that I'm usually quite adept at striking a match on the first try... I'm just a little rusty, that's all..." He shrugged.

"Aw, don't let Michael get to you, Devon..." Bonnie soothed as she patted his shoulder. "We all know you mean well..."

WHOO WHOO. "If you needed to start a fire, I could've produced a few sparks to a pile of kindling..." KITT said from his place behind them.

"Yeah, you could've, KITT; but that wouldn't really be 'camping out'..." Michael said.

"Well, neither is THIS..." Devon said, gesturing at the lava flow right in front of them. "... but no one's complaining..."

"Yeah... especially this guy..." Michael commented as he gestured towards Chomper, who was eating one of their roasted hot dogs. "So what do you think, Chomper?"

"Iss good!" Chomper said as he paused from munching on his hot dog.

Cera made a face. "Must you talk with your mouth full!!?"

Everyone laughed at this banter.

They were, in fact, quite amazed at the lava flow Grandpa Longneck showed them. The heat that came out from the crack in the ground was about the same warmth as a regular campfire, and they found it ideal for cooking up the food they brought; which consisted mainly of hot dogs. Bonnie, however, had brought some popcorn along as well; and it didn't take long before the tell tale popping sound of well heated kernels could be heard coming from the aluminium foil container they were in. Bonnie let Ruby try some of it after she realized that Ruby was omnivorous. Ruby allowed the strange food to cool down enough so she could handle it. When she was able to eat it, she thought it was real good.

There was some fear, though, that the hot dog buns would make Chomper sick, but he was able to stomach it. He found the roasted meat of the weiner to be quite delightful. He compared it to the ground worms he likes on occasion, "but not as cold and slimy". This caused Bonnie to gag momentarily. Ensuing laughter followed.

But while the humans had their own food, and allowed Chomper to sample some of it, the flattooth all had their own handpicked greens. For dessert, they roasted marshmallows and smores. Michael invited Chomper to try a marshmallow. Unsure at first, Chomper then found that he could stomach it, and he immediately helped himself to some more. The same was offered to the other dinos, but they politely refused; although they thought that they could easily handle food like that, if they wanted to.

Little Foot was a bit confused at the term the humans used to describe the "red fire river". Devon explained that humans had a broader vocabulary than dinosaurs would, which would explain why some terms would be strange to him. Little Foot nodded his understanding.

By now, there was only a select group of dinos left by the lava flow, as most everyone had gone home for the night. There was only Little Foot's gang, Grandpa and Grandma Longneck, Mr. Threehorn, Tria, Mama Flyer and Mrs. Swimmer.

Grandpa Longneck decided to tell one of his own nighttime stories, as was often told around a "red fire river" like this. He was surprised to note that the humans told stories around a "campfire" like they did.

"Now that you've heard some of our stories. I'm sure you have stories of your own you'd like to tell." Grandpa Longneck invited, after he finished telling his nighttime story.

"As a matter of fact, we do..." RC quickly said. "In fact, I have one I'd like to tell you right now..."

"You may do so, Are See..." Grandpa Longneck said.

RC cleared his throat before he began. "This is a story of three Texas cowboys..."

"Cow boys??? What are THOSE??? And what's a 'Teck zehss'???" Little Foot asked in interruption.

RC smiled. "'Cowboys' are guys who ride horses and herd cattle... or 'cows', if you will..."

"...And Texas is a STATE from where we come from..." Devon said.

"The Lone Star State..." Michael said.

"Quite beautiful, actually..." Devon smiled.

"Huh???" Little Foot asked, genuinely confused.

"We'll explain it all to you later..." Michael said.

"Please don't interrupt, Little Foot." Grandpa Longneck whispered to him. "Save your questions until after the story..."

"Sorry, grampa..." Little Foot said as he looked to the ground.

After a few moments, RC continued. "Well, like I said: This is the story of three Texas cowboys who bought a house in the Texas hill country... They were entrepreneurs, you see... businessmen... Their business was hunting... They planned to convert the house into a hunting cabin, and rent it out to hunters who wanted to go hunt the plentiful game that was on the land that came with the house...

"BUT... little did they know that the house they bought... was HAUNTED..."

All of the humans smiled slowly when they realized where RC was going with this.

"What's..." Little Foot started to say.

But Cera shushed him harshly.

"The cowboys stayed in the house while they planned their new business venture... It was a beautiful four bedroom house that was almost 50 years old! They couldn't ask for anything more!! But it didn't take long before they realized that they were not alone in the house...

"From the very first night, they heard the sound of footsteps in the hallway... All three of them were getting ready for bed... There was nobody else in the house with them; and when they went to look to see who was making those footsteps, they saw no one... and the sound suddenly stopped...

"They thought nothing of it at first... They thought it was just their imagination... But EVERY SINGLE NIGHT, the footstep sounds came back... Not only that, but other sounds as well... like banging sounds, as if somebody was hitting the walls with a hammer... These sounds would go on for awhile, and then stop... Then there was nothing but dead silence, and the cowboys finally went to sleep, relieved that the sound that kept them up was gone for another night...

"But one particular night, one of the cowboys whom I will name 'Bobby' experienced something that deeply disturbed him. He was woken up by a really loud crashing sound that came from the kitchen. Thinking he had a robber on his hands, he grabbed his gun and slowly crept out of his bedroom towards the kitchen... As he reached the threshold of the kitchen entryway, he heard the crashing sound again. To him, it sounded like somebody threw one of the kitchen chairs against the wall... But when he turned on the light, he saw that all of the kitchen chairs were in their place, and everything was where it should be... This totally baffled him, because he was sure he didn't imagine what he just heard...

"When he told his two friends the next morning what had happened the night before, that's when they realized that they had a GHOST on their hands!"

Petrie let out a gasp and hugged Ducky for comfort. Ducky also sought comfort in hugging Petrie, and she was visibly shaking.

"But, being the rough and tumble guys they were, they weren't going to let a noisy ghost get the better of them! They were determined to go through with their business plans, and hoped that the ghost would eventually go away, and peace would be restored to the house...

"But EVERY NIGHT the same old thing happened... But there was some new stuff mixed in as well... Like one night, while his two partners had left for the city for a few days; and he was all by himself in the house, the cowboy who's name was 'Johnny' was woken up by someone or someTHING calling his name... He looked around his bedroom, and there was no one there! What's more, despite it being the middle of summer... or 'hot time'... His room was really really cold! It was so cold, he was shivering!!

"And another night, the third cowboy, who goes by the name of Mike Richards, was woken up with this tremendous pain in his right leg. He tried to get out of bed to shake it off, but he found that he couldn't move! Almost as if somebody he couldn't see, or some invisible force, was holding him down! Finally, after some struggle, he was able to finally get up off the bed and shake off the pain and numbness in his leg.

"Yet ANOTHER night, Bobby was woken up by the movement of his bed. When he looked over, he saw that a corner of his bed was sunken down, as if somebody had sat down on the edge of it! It was only when he kicked at the area over the sag that it dissapeared!!

"They told friends and family about what was going on, but nobody really believed them. Until two of Mike's sisters came to spend the night at the house. They wanted to see for themselves if what their brother was telling them was true.

"Well, it didn't take long before they became convinced that their brother's stories were true. As soon as they had settled down for the night, the noises started up again with a fury! Footsteps, sounds of objects being thrown, the sound of somebody whistling, crushing blows to the walls and ceilings... BANG BANG BANG... That's what it sounded like..."

As RC said this, a lot of the dinos gasped or cried in fear. Bonnie showed her own fear leaning against Michael for comfort.

"The next morning, Mike saw that his sisters had experienced something truly terrifying throughout the night, though he slept through it. His sisters begged him to leave. They didn't want to stay in that house a minute longer than necessary. They were out of there faster than you could say 'Mississippi'."

This brought laughter from some of the dinos.

"Eventually, the cowboys became fed up with all of the activity that was going on. They left the house about a year after they bought it, finally decided to let this unseen ghost have the house for himself.

"Scientists would later come to study what was going on at the house. They said they heard and recorded the same sounds the cowboys described, but they never could really explain what was causing these sounds, or who was making them. It remained a mystery to them, and it's still a mystery to this day. This story turned into a legend, and came to be known as 'The Legend of The Texas Entity'."

Some of the two footed dinosaurs applauded after he finished. RC simply bowed his head and said "thank you".

Grandpa Longneck bent down to face him. "That was a truly fascinating story, Are See! Beautifully told, too! We have many similar legends that we tell our children, but yours is obviously a form of story telling I've never even heard of..."

"It's what we call a 'ghost story', Mr. Longneck..." Michael said.

"Goast... story???" Little Foot asked in confusion.

Michael nodded. "Yes! A 'ghost story'. It's meant to scare people."

"Well it sure scared Petrie!" Little Foot said as he glanced over to a still shaking Petrie cowering next to his mother. "And it scared me too, although I didn't understand a lot of the words you used..."

"Humpf! Well, I, for one, don't believe a WORD of it!" Topsy said from his place behind the humans. "This thing you call a 'goast' doesn't exist in our world, and I don't think it exists in YOURS, either."

Topsy's mate, Tria, sighed and rolled her eyes. "You don't believe a LOT of things, Topsy!"

"You're right... I don't!" Topsy confirmed.

"Well, 'I' believe it!" Little Foot said. "And I have some questions about the story..."

Little Foot was allowed to ask his numerous questions to the humans. It mostly had to do with a lot of the terms RC used in his story. Little Foot was able to understand some of the terms somewhat after he heard the explanations, but he still wasn't able to understand the other terms, no matter how good the humans tried to explain it to him. Cera finally told Little Foot to let it go saying that if he didn't understand what the terms were now, he'd never understand them.

Afterwards, Grandpa Longneck spoke up. "I now know you can be as good story tellers as us, but what about singing? You've heard some of the songs we like to sing. Do you have any songs you'd like to share with us?"

Devon immediately spoke up. "As a matter of fact, we do! I can think of one particular folkloric song I'd like to share... "Excuse me..."

He got up and moved towards KITT, who looked quite eerie with his flashing red light at the front of his bumper that was his scanner. "KITT, would you mind opening your trunk?" He asked KITT.

"Right away, Devon." KITT said as he popped his trunk open.

Devon then took something out of the trunk that looked really strange to the dinos.

"What's that?" Little Foot asked as Devon came back to take his place on the log the humans used as a bench.

"THIS is called a 'guitar'. It's an instrument... We use it to play music..."

He then demonstrated by strumming it.

"That is a great sounding insturrment, Mr. Devon. Yep, yep, YEP!" Ducky commented.

"I wondered who's guitar that was..." Michael said. "Funny, I never pegged you as being a guitar player."

"I'll have you know, dear Michael, that I was part of a Beatles tribute band, when I was younger..." Devon said matter-of-factly.

"You learn something new every day..." Michael mused.

"There's a lot of things you don't know about me, Michael. If you'd like, I'll tell you about it at another time... But for now, I wish to partake this traditional English ballad to you all... and it goes like this..."

Devon started strumming his guitar in a very rhythmic pattern, and sang a song that spoke about "a lovely bunch of coconuts standing in a row". Michael was surprised at hearing Devon sing so well! He never pictured Devon being much of a singer, let alone a good guitar player. Michael thought it must be true what Devon had said about him being part of a Beatles tribute band earlier in his life.

The song, however, amused some of the dinos, as there was a singular wit about it. Even Topsy admitted that he thought it was "not bad". Tria nudged him affectionately, happy at seeing him showing his appreciation for one of the humans' traditional songs.

When Devon finished, he received applause and praise from all around.

"That was a really nice sung, Devon! Well done!!" Grandma Longneck commented.

"Thank you!" Devon said as he smiled up at the female longneck.

"Any more were those came from?" Chomper asked, eager to hear other human songs.

RC immediately spoke up. "As a matter of fact, I have one!"

"Oh? Which one?" Bonnie asked.

"Leroy Brown... Do you know 'Leroy Brown', Devon?"

"As a matter of fact, I do; and it goes something like this..."

Then he started strumming his guitar to the appropriate beat of the song.

RC cleared his throat, and sang the appropriate lyrics:

Well, the south side of Chicago

Is the baddest part of town

If you go down there

You'd better just beware of a man named Leroy Brown

Now Leroy wanted trouble

He stands about six foot four

All the downtown ladies call him 'Tree Top Lover'

All the guys just call him 'Sir'

Yeah he's bad bad Leroy Brown

The baddest man in the whole damn town

Badder than old King Kong

Meaner than a junkyard dog

Well Leroy he's a gambler

And he likes his fancy clothes

He also likes to wave his diamond rings

In front of everybody's nose

He's got a custom Continental

He's got an Eldorado, too!

He's got a .32 gun in his pocket for fun

And a razor in his shoe

And he's bad bad Leroy Brown

The baddest man in the whole damned town

Badder than olf King Kong

Meaner than a junkyard dog

One day, at the local pub

Leroy was throwing dice

At the edge of the bar sat a girl named Doris

And OOH did she look nice

Well he cast his eyes upon her

And the trouble soon began

'Cause Leroy Brown learned a lesson

'bout messin' with the wife of a jealous man

Yeah he's bad bad Leroy Brown

The baddest man in the whole damned town

Badder than old King Kong

Meaner than a junkyard dog

Well, the two men took to fighting

And when all was set and done

Leroy looked like a jigsaw puzzle

With a couple of pieces gone

Since that day not too long ago

Leroy was never the same

But don't believe that he's any less brave

And believe me when I say

That he's bad bad Leroy Brown

The baddest man in the whole damned town

Badder than old King Kong

Meaner than a junkyard dog

By the time RC reached the final refrain, all of the humans joined in and sang along with him. The sang the refrain three times before finishing, thus prompting a lot of cheers and applause from the audience. RC simply smiled, nodded and thanked everybody for their applause.

"A most wonderful song, Are See!" Grandpa Longneck commented.

"Thank you... It became very popular a few years ago..." RC said.

"Yeah, and I have another popular one I'd like to share..." Michael announced.

"Gee! I didn't know you could sing, too, Myk'l!" Chomper said in surprise.

"Well... I'm not the greatest singer in the world, but I like to think I'm pretty good..." Michael boasted.

"I do admit that you filled out your role as an undercover singer to a tee in a case we worked on just two years ago..." KITT began.

"KITT!" Michael interrupted. "You can tell our friends about it LATER! Don't spoil the moment."

"Of course... Sorry, Michael!" KITT apologized.

Michael continued. "The song I'm about to sing is called 'Piano Man', and it goes great with a harmonica. Speaking of... RC, did you bring yours?"

"Oh! As a matter of fact, I did! I know I got it on me SOMEWHERE..." He said as he felt inside the pockets of his jacket. His face lit up as he finally found it. He pulled it out from his lower left jacket pocket. "Ah! I KNEW I brought it with me..."

"All right! Devon, RC, if you please..." Michael prompted.

RC started playing the appropriate rhythm on his harmonica while Devon strummed the appropriate beat on his guitar.

Michael cleared his throat and sang the following lyrics:

It's 9 o'clock on a Saturday

The regular crowd shuffles in

There's an old man sittin' next to me

Makin' love to his tonic and gin

He says "Son, can you play me a memory?

"I'm not really sure how it goes

"But it's sad and it's sweet, and I knew it complete

"When I wore a younger man's clothes."

OH... Laa la la dee dee dah

La la dee dee dah... dah daaaahh

Sing us a song! You're the piano man

Sing us a song tonight

'Cause we're all the mood for a melody

And you're got us feeling all right

Now John at the bar is a friend of mine

He gets me my drinks for free

And he's quick with a joke

Or'll light up your smoke

But there's someplace that he'd rather be

He says: "Bill, I believe this is killing me!"

As the smile ran away from his place

"Well, I think I'd like to be an Actor

"If I could get out of this place!"

Now Paul is a Real Estate Novelist

Who's never had time for a wife

And he's talkin' to Davey who's still in the Navy

And probably will be for life

And the waitress is practicing politics

As the businessmen slowly get stoned

Yes! They're sharing a drink they call 'loneliness'

But it's better than drinking alone

Laa la dee dee dah

La la dee dee dah... dah daaah

Sing us a song, you're the piano man!

Sing us a song tonight

'Cause we're all in the mood for a melody

And you've got us feeling all right

It's a pretty good crowd for a Saturday

And the Manager gives me a smile

'Cause he knows that it's me they've been coming to see

To forget about life for awhile

And the piano sound like a carnival

And the microphone smells like a beer

The men who sit at the bar come put bread in my jar

and say "Man, what are you doin' here?"

Ooh... Laaa la la dee dee dah

La laaa dee dee daaah... Dah daaaah

Sing us a song, you're the piano man

Sing us a song tonight

'Cause we're all in the mood for a melody

And you've got us feeling all right

When the song was over, everybody cheered or applauded.

Grandma Longneck chuckled. "Who knew these creatures had such a rich and dynamic culture!" she said to her life mate.

"I guess that's what makes us human!" Michael said with a smile.

Grandpa longneck chuckled. "Indeed, my friends! Indeed!!"

"With everyone's permission, I have a song I'd like to share..." KITT suddenly said.

"Uh oh..." RC warned.

"You... KITT... Have a song???" Michael surprisingly asked as he turned to face the horizontal dancing red light of his partner's scanner.

"Yes, Michael! Totally made up... on the spot!!"

"I take it khit's not in the habit of making up his own songs?" Grandpa Longneck asked in some confusion.

"Let's just say that for a... CREATURE... like him, it's most unusual..." Michael answered.

"But not impossible... I, for one, would be most interested to hear what he's come up with. Go ahead, KITT!" Bonnie encouraged.

"Thank you, Bonnie!" KITT answered.

"Humpf! Now THIS I've gotta hear!" Cera said.

"Please... Courtesy for the performer!" KITT said with a hint of irritation in his voice. "This is a song I call 'Awesome World'. For your hearing pleasure, and without adue..."

KITT started by playing what sounded like orchestral violin music over his external speakers, then made a noise as if he was clearing his throat before singing the following:

I love the mountains

I love the clear blue skies

I love the forests

and all the birds that fly

I love the whole world

And all it's sights and sounds

Boom dee ah, boom dee ah

Boom dee ah, boom dee ah

I love the oceans

And all the fish that swim

I love the deserts

And all the live within

I love the whole world

And all it's craziness

Boom dee ah, boom dee ah

Boom dee ah, boom dee ah

Boom dee ah, boom dee ah

Boom dee ah, boom dee ah

I love the seasons

I love arachnids

I love hot magma

And the giant squids

I love the whole world

It's such an awesome place

Boom dee ah, boom dee ah

Boom dee ah, boom dee ah

Boom dee ah, boom dee ah

Boom dee ah, boom dee ah

The humans thought they could hear African tribe chanting in the background music KITT was playing. When KITT finished, he received thunderous cheers and applause all around. Even the humans had to applaud KITT's efforts!

"Wow, khit! That was GREAT!" Chomper said with a big toothy smile.

"Khit sings better than any of us! He does! He does!" Ducky commented.

KITT made his WHOO WHOO sound before answering. "Why, thank you, Ducky!"

"That's a matter of opinion! 'Sings better than any of us', indeed!" Topsy grumbled.

"Oh, Topsy!" Tria said as she rolled her eyes.

"Well... maybe a little..." Topsy corrected, thus prompting an affectionate nudge from Tria.

WHOO WHOO. "High praise, coming from you!" KITT said, which made Topsy glare at him, thus prompting giggles from some of the gathered dinos.

Grandpa Longneck then noticed Little Foot let loose a huge yawn. "Well, as eventful as this day has been for all of us, I fear it's time to put all of our kids to bed..."

Some of the young ones whined, but those too tired to say anything in rebutted simply yawned, or leaned sleepily against their parent(s).

"I think we can allow them to sleep in a little..." Grandpa Longneck announced. "Tomorrow is another day... Good night, one and all!"

Thus prompting the crowd to disperse.

A short time later, the humans bedded down for the night. Through Bonnie was invited to share the tent with the men, she preferred to sleep in KITT's back seat. Because, in her own words, she "felt safer inside KITT than in a tent left out in the open". Michael tried to convince her that it was safe with KITT, Grandpa and Grandma Longneck all ready to jump into action, if ever there was any trouble; but Bonnie wouldn't hear any of it. This left Michael to shrug his shoulders in a "suit yourself" attitude. They soon went to sleep in the pitch black darkness.


	7. Chapter 6 Sightseeing and Rescue

**CHAPTER 6**

**SIGHTSEEING AND AN IMPROMPTU RESCUE**

The next morning, when everyone was awake, the gang all gathered at Little Foot's place for breakfast and then to embark on the grand tour of The Great Valley Grandpa and Grandma Longneck promised the human visitors and the creature called KITT.

The young dinos were especially curious about how the humans freshened up. They had never seen items like soap, shampoo, face cloths, towels, deodorants, combs and brushes. The dinos thought the scented items had a strange smell to them. The humans said that these sorts of things was what made them "smell good", by human standards.

The dinos didn't seem offended when the human males stripped naked to wash themselves in the fast water, or what they called "the river". Of course, the dinosaurs walked around "naked" all the time; and they weren't that surprised to see the rest of their bodies being the same colour as their faces and hands. They understood the concept of clothing from Myk'l's initial visit to the valley two months prior, and they figured khit would be too big for clothing. He didn't seem to mind going around "naked" to begin with, anyways.

What the dino males found odd, however, was how the human males were incapable of keeping their genitals "on the inside", like they did. None dared ask them, however. They simply figured that humans lacked that ability, while THEY only brought their "organs" out to relieve themselves, or perform the "mating act" with a female. The human males did seem a bit nervous, however, at the curious looks directed at them while they washed themselves in the fast water. Sensing this nervousness, the dinos simply walked off to give them some privacy.

Bonnie, however, was more modest. She went off to bathe at an isolated area of the fast water, and insisted that no dino males be present while she washed. She did allow, however, a few of the female dinos to stay and talk. Ducky, Ruby and Cera were especially curious about this "ritual" Rebecca was performing, which reminded them of the self cleansing they did at the thundering water often enough. They wanted to know how often humans did this, and if they always used the "scented things" Bonnie used on herself. Bonnie smiled at the children's intense curiosity. She figured the dinosaurs would simply "shower" at the "waterfall" the dinos described, and not more than that; and that they would show her this "waterfall" later on that day.

During breakfast, the humans had their own servings of what they called "cereal and milk". Devon fired up the "proh pain grill" to make something he called "coffee" for everyone. But they also sampled some of the local fruits and berries the dinos helped gather for their own breakfast. Many were surprised at seeing them mix the berries in with their "see real". Devon even went as far as slicing up a yellow sweet fruit(what the humans called a "banana") with a strange grey rock he called a "paw kett neyef" into his own "see real". The dinos thought this was a bit odd, but labelled it as something "hyoo mahns liked to do". When the coffee was ready, all of the humans helped themselves to what was inside the strange grey container on the "proh pain grill"(which the dinosaurs thought gave off a strange odour that Devon explained was from the burning gas inside of it). Devon offered some to the dinos, who politely declined.

They knew the hyoo mahns didn't eat tree stars, grass or flowers from Myk'l's initial visit, and that khit only ate "gah sso leen", but he had had his fill of it before he came to The Great Valley; and that Myk'l reassured them by saying that khit wouldn't need to "eat" again until he returned home. This relieved a lot of the dinos, as they wouldn't know where to get the strange smelling "gah sso leen" for khit while he was here.

After breakfast, the gang headed off on the grand tour of The Great Valley. First stop was Saurus Rock, which was described as being an important landmark for the valley. Many outside dinos saw it as the entryway into The Great Valley, and the borderline between it and The Mysterious Beyond.

Many dinos thought the rock had the likeness of Doc, The Lone Dinosaur; and that you can see that resemblance, if you looked at the two side by side together. "It's a shame he was not here today! He would've loved to meet you..." Grandpa Longneck would tell the humans and KITT. He also explained how Doc has always been the kind of dino who never stayed in one place for very long. The Great Valley residents called dinos like him "wanderers". Myk'l would use the term "nomads", while Devon used the more technical term "migratory".

Upon Little Foot's assistance, Grandpa Longneck told the story of how Little Foot himself tried to fix a piece of Saurus Rock that was accidentally broken off by Cera's infant cousins Dinah and Dana, thinking that bad luck would rain down on the valley if the broken piece wasn't put back. It was this "foolishness"(what Devon would call "superstition") that prompted Little Foot to literally risk life and limb to steal a sharp tooth off of a dead sharptooth without realizing the sharptooth wasn't dead, but merely unconscious; and that it was thanks to Doc and Grandpa Longneck that Little Foot was able to escape from the jaws of certain death.

The humans were so impressed by the story that they applauded Little Foot's efforts, who blushed as he took his bows. Even KITT showed his appreciation at the accomplishment by saying that Little Foot was "a big brave longneck", to which Little Foot thanked him.

Bonnie remembered to bring her camera with her, and she took a few pictures of Saurus Rock, as well as the gang standing in front of it, including KITT. She also took a picture of it with KITT at the foot of it just to show how big the monolith was compared to KITT.

Next stop on the tour was Threehorn Peak, or what was left of it. The shape of a threehorn's head was still distinguishable despite the tragedy that befell it after a "stone of cold fire" crashed into it, and subsequently exploded. Grandpa Longneck told the story of how an evil flyer named Pterano(who happened to be Petrie's estranged uncle) tried to somehow harness the power of the stone of cold fire to make himself invincible, but was thwarted by Little Foot and his friend, and two very strange rainbow face visitors to the valley.

The humans and KITT understood that the stone of cold fire was what they called a "meteor" or "meteorite", and that the stone was destroyed by the term they used as "volcanic explosion" to describe the "red fire". It was here that Little Foot insisted that the stone of cold fire was more than a mere "meetur right", and that the rainbow faces were more than just ordinary flatteeth. Grandpa Longneck chuckled and said that without sufficient proof of this, there was no way to really pass judgment and say that it was true or not. Given the time lapse described by the dinos, the humans and KITT placed the sequence of events to be at about six months ago. Grandpa Longneck also mentioned that Pterano, the main culprit of all this, was sentenced to spend five cold times in The Mysterious Beyond. Myk'l mentioned that it seemed a bit light of a sentence for "multiple counts of attempted murder". Grandpa Longneck said he decided to show mercy to Pterano after he redeemed himself in the end by helping to save the dino children's lives.

Bonnie took out her camera to take pictures of the landmark by itself, and with the entire visiting gang in front of it.

The next stop on the tour was the impressive Thundering Falls where the dinos often come to take their own "showers". Michael commented that the waterfall was "nothing compared to what Niagara Falls was like". The puzzled look on the dinos faces compelled the humans to describe what Niagara Falls was.

"You're right, Myk'l! Your ny-ah-ger-ah falls could certainly put the Thundering Falls to shame..." Grandpa Longneck said after hearing the humans' description.

"And it's quite a beautiful place, too!" A smiling Devon said.

"I'm sure it is!" Topsy said. "But I don't believe it could be bigger than Thundering Falls..."

"But if you saw it, you'd change your mind..." Michael told the big threehorn.

"Maybe..." Topsy simply said.

"MR. LONGNECK! MR. LONGNECK!" came the sound of a frantic voice from a short ways away. It was the male swimmer dinos again running up as fast as they could to the group with his female partner not far behind.

They stopped in front on Grandpa Longneck panting from exhaustion.

"What is it?" Grandpa Longneck asked calmly.

When the female dino finally caught her breath, she was frantic. "It's Mr. Thinknose!! He was in The Mysterious Beyond looking for healing herbs when he was surprised by Red Claw and his fast biters!!"

All of the dinos gasped in horror. They knew that Mr. Thicknose couldn't stand a chance alone against three sharptooth like Red Claw, Screech and Thud.

"Oh, no..." Michael groaned.

WHOO WHOO. "Oh, no!" KITT cried out in turn.

"We were helping him collect the herbs when they came out of nowhere and surprised us... Please! You must SAVE HIM!!" the male swimmer frantically said.

"We'll do what we can, but I fear it may already be too late..." Grandpa Longneck announced, prompting groans and cries from the assembled dinos.

"NO!" Michael shouted. "Everyone stay here! Let me and KITT handle this. We've dealt with them before..."

"Can you really do that???" the female swimmer asked as she approached Michael and KITT. "You're gonna have to be pretty fast, though..."

"We'll certainly try..." Michael said. "As far being fast, don't worry! KITT'll be there in no time..."

The swimmer pair looked relived. "Oh, thank you! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!" the male swimmer said.

"Just point to me which way to go..." Michael asked.

Both swimmer pointed in a direction due East.

Michael nodded than ran over to KITT. "OK, buddy! Let's MOTOR!!"

"Please be careful!!" Bonnie cried out.

"Don't worry, Bonnie! I will!!" Michael said.

"I was talking to KITT..."

Michael rolled his eyes as he got into KITT's driver seat. "I'm telling you that woman's gonna drive me BATTY..." Michael muttered as he pressed a few buttons on KITT's console, and KITT's engine roared to life. "Okay, KITT! Let's burn RUBBER!!"

He then pressed on the accelerator that prompted KITT to do a quick U-turn. His tires spinned as he sped off towards the East, kicking up dirt and small rocks as he went. The two swimmers had to shield themselves with their forelimbs as the pebbles flew up to hit them.

"All right, KITT! Let's go to SUPER PURSUIT MODE!" Michael shouted just as they cleared a hill, then he pressed the green button to activate the outer body transformation. Once the metamorphosis was completed, KITT took off like a bullet speeding towards the area where Mr. Thicknose was last seen fighting off the sharptooth attack.

* * *

It took mere minutes for KITT to reach the ravine where Mr. Thicknose was located.

"Okay, KITT. Back to normal mode!" Michael said as he pressed the green button again, thus deactivating KITT's Super Pursuit Mode, and changing KITT's outer shell back to it's regular form. Given the rocky terrain, Super Pursuit Mode would not be very effective in the ravine they were now in.

It didn't take long before they were able to locate Mr. Thicknose. Red Claw and his fast biters had him cornered against a rock wall, and were slowly moving in for the kill. Mr. Thicknose, however, was adopting a defensive posture, and meanly grinding his teeth. He wasn't gonna do down without a fight!

The three sharptooth were oblivious to KITT approaching them from behind. "There's Red Claw, KITT! RAM HIM!!" Michael cried as he pressed harder on the accelerator to bring KITT to full speed.

The sound of KITT's tires grinding through the rocky dirt caused Red Claw to turn around. He let out a fearful cry as he saw what was heading right for him, but was unable to avoid KITT plowing right into him! KITT took out Red Claw's legs right from under him, causing Red Claw to fall flat on his face on the ground and getting knocked unconscious.

KITT then screeched to a halt just inches short of the stone wall in between Mr. Thicknose and the fast biters. Mr. Thicknose still bore the look of surprise on his facial features upon seeing Myk'l and khit come out of nowhere to take out Red Claw like he was nothing.

"Switch on your external speakers!" Michael ordered as he pressed the appropriate button on KITT's console. "MR. THICKNOSE!" Michael cried from inside KITT. Thanks to the external speakers, Michael's voice resounded all throughout the ravine. "Get out of there! Me and KITT'll take care of the fast biters!!"

Mr. Thicknose nodded and began running back towards The Great Valley.

Meanwhile, Screech the Thud, the two fast biters, focused their attention on KITT and Michael. They had mean looking snarls on their facial features, and they were drooling at the mouth as they growled in their direction. They slowly approached them, intending to have them as a fresh kill.

"All right, KITT! Let's give 'em a little taste of ultra sound!" Michael said boldly as he pressed the appropriate button on KITT's console. The intense high pitched whining sound reverberated all throughout the ravine, which caused Screech and Thus to cover their earholes with their forelimbs. They both had expressions of intense pain on their facial features.

"Ok, KITT! Hit TURBO BOOST!!" Michael ordered.

"With pleasure, Michael!" KITT replied.

Michael pressed the button on KITT's console which prompted KITT to blast out from his spot towards Screech and Thud. KITT then opened his driver and passenger side doors as he flew between the two fast biters, stricking them both square in the jaw with his opened doors. KITT then sped off back towards The Great Valley as Screech and Thud both fell to the ground unconscious.

* * *

A short time later, KITT and Michael caught up with Mr. Thicknose as he trotted back towards The Great Valley. The waiting dinos cheered as they arrived back at the Thundering Falls. The two swimmers were especially relieved to see that Mr. Thicknose was safe and sound.

Little Foot's gang happily greeted Michael and KITT upon their triumphant return. Chomper couldn't help but hug KITT's left front tire. "Be careful where you lay those sharp claws, my young tyrannosaur friend! Although by outer shell is well protected, my tires are not..." This cause Chomper to step back, looked at the claws on his hands, and laugh.

"We're so glad to see you're okay, Mr. Thicknose!" Grandpa Longneck said.

"I AM okay!" Mr. Thicknose said. "Thanks to Myk'l and Khit here... If it weren't for them, I'm afraid I'd've been done for..."

"Oh, Michael! You've scratched KITT!!" Bonnie called.

"What!!?" Michael cried out in disbelief. "Where!?" Michael asked as she approached Bonnie, who was kneeling down next to KITT's driver's side door.

"Right... THERE!" Bonnie said as she pointed towards a tiny scratch, no more than a few millimeters long, just below KITT's door handle.

Michael was stunned that Bonnie would fuss over so tiny a scratch as that. "I don't believe this..." he cried out.

WHOO WHOO. "It's nothing that an extra coating of molecular bonding formula can't fix. REALLY!" KITT said in reassurance to Bonnie.

Bonnie sighed as she got up. "I tell you, Michael! You're going to be the end of me!!" Then she just walked away, still fuming.

"Feeling's mutual, Bonnie. Believe me!" Michael said quietly as he watched her leave.

"You know, Michael. I think she really likes you!" RC teased.

"Yes! She's quite an extraordinary woman! I think you two would make the ideal couple!" Devon said in his own brand of teasing. Michael simply glared at them both.

For the rest of the day, the dinos couldn't stop talking about Myk'l and Khit's exploits that literally saved Mr. Thicknose's life. To them, he was an honoured elder, full of knowledge. His death would've been irrecoverable! Many dinos felt that with Myk'l and Khit around, they could all feel safe, and never have to worry about sharptooth again! Michael sensed this, and told some of them that they didn't belong here. He told them that their real place was back in the future where they could help their own kind. Human kind. Besides, KITT wouldn't be able to go far once he ran out of "gah sso leen". Some dinos understood this; while others, mostly the younger dinos, were immensely dissapointed.

The humans and KITT did get to see some more of The Great Valley, though. Bonnie took a fair amount of pictures of all the beautiful scenery of The Great Valley. She also took pictures of some of the dinos of the valley, as well as of her human friends and KITT standing together in a group next to some of the landmarks, in front of the breathtaking scenery, and together with some of the dinos of the valley.

As eventful as this day was, they still had another two full days to spend in the valley. Though they may not be as eventful as their first full day was, they would still find ways to have fun with their dinosaur friends.


	8. Chapter 7 Return To Base

**CHAPTER 7**

**RETURN TO BASE**

Over the next two days, the humans and KITT got to see more of The Great Valley and the surrounding areas. They couldn't fathom such beautiful countryside would eventually turn into the Mohave desert, but they figured a lot could change in 60 million years. Devon, however, knew this future change was inevitable due to what he termed as "changing climate" and "natural evolution". The dinos didn't quite know what the terms he used meant, but they got the general idea if what he was taling about. They already knew that things change, and change was unavoidable. They've also decided that Devon must be a "really smart hyoo mahn" to use big words as he does.

Bonnie brought four rolls of film with her on this journey, so she took a lot pictures. She also made sure she brought a fresh change of batteries for the camera. KITT kept telling her that she didn't need to waste batteries on her hand held camera when he could easily take snapshots of everything in The Great Valley. Bonnie thanked KITT for the offer, but said that the pictures she took herself would be more meaningful than pictures KITT would take for her. KITT didn't quite understand what Bonnie was referring to, but didn't press the issue any further.

This didn't stop KITT from making his own visual records of the places and residents of The Great Valley. He took his own snapshots, and made short movie clips of the dinos and humans interacting. Michael and R.C. couldn't wait to see KITT's "home movies". Devon said that Dr. Anders would also be interested in seeing what KITT's gonna put together.

At night, it was another party around the red river "campfire" with more singing, laughter, food, and story telling. R.C. told a few more ghost stories. Michael had a couple of his own, as well as a few stories related to tough cases he remembered from his time as a cop; back when he was known as Michael Long.

"Khhop??? What's a 'khhop'???" Little Foot would ask.

"Wwweeelll... a 'cop' is somebody who enforces the rules and protects the people of an area he's responsible for... Kinda like what I do now... Only difference is: I occasionally get to wear a fancy uniform." Michael smiled.

"Oh..." Little Foot said as he nodded his understanding.

Devon was even allowed to relate his own stories of adventuring from his youth in England; and later on in America. He even told the story of how he almost got killed by a lion on an African safari he went on when he was eighteen! When the dinos asked what a 'lion' was, he simply explained to them that it was a "fast and vicious sharpteeth". They all understood!

On the morning of the third day, the humans packed up their belongings and camping gear inside KITT's trunk and made their way to the place where the time vortex was due to be opened. All of their dinosaur friends came out to see them off.

Just before the vortex opened, Bonnie decided to take a panoramic snapshot of everybody that had gathered. She had to back up pretty far to make sure she got everybody, including the largest longnecks that were assembled.

As soon as she came back to the group, the vortex opened. Everybody exchanged farewell greetings and hugs. Spike even got his licks in on all of the humans.

"I wish you could stay, khit! You're the best friend I've ever had!" Chomper sadly said as he hugged KITT's left front tire.

WHOO WHOO. "And I wish I could stay, too!" KITT said in response.

"Awww... C'mon, KITT! You don't mean that!" Michael teased.

"Of course I do! I could get used to the change of scenery this valley provides..."

"Well, buddy! When you eventually retire from The Foundation, and wanna put down roots here, you'll be more than welcome!" Michael said as he patted KITT's hood.

Then Spike came up and gave a huge lick to KITT's windshield.

"YUCK!" KITT exclaimed as he activated his wipers.

This prompted laughter from most everybody assembled.

"But... do you think you and KITT will ever come back to the valley?" Chomper asked Michael when the laughter died down.

"We'll see." Michael smiled as he rubbed the young sharptooth's head, who let out a light purr.

After everyone said their goodbyes, everybody got into KITT. KITT backed up to the appropriate distance to get the right speed needed before hitting the vortex. Everyone of the dinos waved to everyone inside KITT as he sped towards the vortex. Everyone inside waved back as they passed. As soon as KITT passed through the vortex, it closed.

* * *

Back in the Foundation laboratory, Dr. Anders and two of his men were anxiously awaiting KITT's return from the prehistoric past.

Finally, KITT emerged from the vortex and skidded to a halt about a hundred feet away from the vortex threshold. A smiling Dr. Anders then signaled to his men to close the vortex.

"You had me worried there, Michael! What took you so long!?" Dr. Anders asked as he greeted Michael as he emerged from KITT.

"Come on, David! We weren't gonna leave before saying 'goodbye' to our friends!" Michael smiled.

"Oh... So I take it you had fun?"

"We had a BLAST, man!" RC exclaimed as he gathered his stuff out of KITT's trunk.

"Yes! You should've BEEN there, David! It was REMARKABLE!" said a beaming Devon.

"Well... Maybe next time, I'll chance it..." David said as he let loose a nervous laugh. "But for now, I've gotta draw up my report for my scientific paper. I'll be happy to say that this experiment was a complete success!" He laughed again. "I can't wait to tell Carol! She'll be so PROUD of me!!"

"Well, while you do that, I'm gonna go have a nice bath, get some rest... and have THESE developed..." Bonnie said as she showed her rolls of film, and started to walk away.

"KITT's even shot some home movies of our little vacation..." Michael said.

"If you'd like, David, we can show them to you tomorrow..." Devon invited.

"I look forward to it!" David Anders smiled.

"Oh! RC, care to help me unload the gear and put it away?" Devon asked.

"Sure, boss!" RC said.

Michael also moved in to help, although he wasn't asked.

* * *

The next day. Everybody gathered inside the laboratory to see KITT's video captures of The Great Valley. Dr. Anders asked if he could bring Carol, as she wanted to see the videos KITT made, as well. The bulge on Carol's belly was the telltale sign that the baby she was pregnant with was coming along quite nicely.

They had set up a large projection screen for KITT to display his video recordings. Chairs were set up in front of a screen to make it like an improvised theater.

"I can't wait to see what KITT's come up with!" she said as she took a seat on the empty chair next to her husband. "Davey's told me so much about it!" He had placed his arm around her as soon as she sat down.

"Prepared to be amazed, Carol!" Michael smiled. "Is everybody ready?" he asked everyone that was seated, who all nodded and/or motioned for the movie to start.

"All right, KITT! Let 'er rip!" Michael said into the control watch he uses to communicate with KITT.

"Right away, Michael!" KITT said as he started projecting his videos on the screen with the help of his front scanner.

Both David and Carol were mesmerized by the images and sounds KITT was projecting onto the screen in front of them.

"It's BEAUTIFUL!" Carol commented in awe.

"It sure is!" David also commented with a smile.

Then they saw some of the dinosaurs they encountered, which impressed them even more! Then they saw and heard something that really took their breath away. Both their eyes grew wide and both their jaws dropped at what they saw and heard.

Both remained speechless for a few moments until Carol finallt found her voice. "Michael?" She said.

"Yeah, Carol?"

"A... am I hearing things, or did that dinosaur just say..."


End file.
